Breast cancer is a multi-stage disease that initially develops from epithelial lesions confined to breast ducts and lobules (carcinoma in-situ), which then rapidly progresses to become locally invasive and finally metastatic. Despite being the most common cancer of women and the second leading cause of cancer mortality among women, the underlying cause(s) of breast cancer remain(s) unknown. If discovered in its earliest stages, breast cancer can be treated successfully. However, if the initial tumor goes undetected prognosis is poor and more radical treatments are initiated including mastectomy, radiation, and chemotherapy, none of which is able to cure malignant breast carcinoma. Therefore, new insights into breast tumor biology and the underlying etiology of the disease may serve as an inroad to effective drug treatments.
The midbody (MB) is a singular organelle formed between daughter cells during cytokinesis and required for their final separation. Remnants of MBs can persist in cells long after division as midbody derivatives (MBds), but their fate is unclear.